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200 to 300 Ghanaians have been recruited by terrorists – Security analyst
Adib Saani, a security analyst, has disclosed that about 200 to 300 young men and women have been recruited by terrorists in the northern parts of Ghana.
According to him, a series of surveys conducted showed how armed groups were operating in the country, adding that porous borders fester smuggling, arms and human trafficking.
“As part of a series of surveys and assessments of the security situation in the Gulf of Guinea countries conducted by Promediation, it has emerged that the establishment of armed groups in northern Ghana has also allowed terrorist groups to implement an active recruitment strategy.
“It is estimated that 200 to 300 young people have been integrated into the various GSIM-JNIM and EIGS katibas. After undergoing training in training camps in the Sahel, these young recruits were sent back to their villages of origin, in particular, to engage in religious proselytizing,” Adib Saani said in a statement.
He revealed that “porous borders fester smuggling, arms and human trafficking. For example, according to figures from the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), in 2019 there were 44 official migration entry points in Ghana.
“However, in reality, there were more than 189 unofficial entry points on the border with Burkina Faso alone. This complicates our efforts to counter the threat.”
Ghana for a long time has remained a stable country in the midst of increasing extremist violence and political instability in West Africa, a report released by the West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism (WACCE) has said.
According to the report, the narrative may no longer remain valid soon if adequate measures are not put in place to tackle the increasing threats from the Sahel.
The threat of terrorism is increasingly descending from the Sahel toward the Coastal States.
Today, more than 53% of all ECOWAS states are experiencing insurgencies and the pervasive spillover phenomenon makes Ghana’s border regions a key area of concern.
It said “Recent attacks in Benin, Togo, and Ivory Coast highlight the determination of the terrorists to expand beyond landlocked Sahelian countries, where the insurgency has devastated thousands of lives and property in the last decade.
“Ghana has a big number of prolonged unresolved chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts and tensions, particularly in the Northern regions.”
“The inherently high exploitative capacity of extremists implies that these vulnerabilities put Ghana in danger of terrorist exploitation,” the report added.
Below is his full statement:
As part of series of surveys and assessments of the security situation in the Gulf of Guinea countries conducted by Promediation, it has emerged that the establishment of armed groups in northern Ghana has also allowed terrorist groups to implement an active recruitment strategy.
It is estimated that 200 to 300 young people have been integrated into the various GSIM-JNIM and EIGS katibas. After undergoing training in training camps in the Sahel, these young recruits were sent back to their villages of origin, in particular to engage in religious proselytizing.
Porous borders fester smuggling, arms and human trafficking. For example, according to figures from the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), in 2019 there were 44 official migration entry points in Ghana.
However, in reality, there were more than 189 unofficial entry points on the border with Burkina Faso alone. This complicates our efforts to counter the threat.
All of these groups operate under the command of Sam Oun (from the Katiba Macina), who is believed to be the leader of the GSIM-JNIM for the MaliBurkina Faso-Côte d’Ivoire border area.
One of the objectives of this establishment would be to establish or reinforce the units present in the Diefoula forest, located on the border between Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, in order to secure GSIM-JNIM access to Ghanaian territory.
EIGS spokesma,n Sidi Amar, and the head of Ansarul Islam’s foreign fighting unit, Saifoulah, estimate that there are 200 young Ghanaians in the ranks of the jihadist groups. The majority of them are believed to be in the ranks of GSIM-JNIM.
Source: www.pulse.com.gh
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
